DD-X Yellow?

[Landberg]

Hi!
I have a bottle of DD-X developer. It’s not passed the expiration date. It’s clear when I mix it. But when I developed and pored it out it was a strong yellow color. What could have happened? Never seen that before?!

 

[sojournerphoto]

Anti halation layer from the film? What film was it? Some leave lovely colours in the chemicals🙂

 

[Freakscene]

Hi!
I have a bottle of DD-X developer. It’s not passed the expiration date. It’s clear when I mix it. But when I developed and pored it out it was a strong yellow color. What could have happened? Never seen that before?!

What film did you develop?

Colour is usually a mixture of antihalation dyes and oxidised developer components. DD-X contains hydroquinone, which oxidises in development to semiquinones. In solution these are yellow-amber-brown depending on concentration.

 

[Landberg]

Forgot to mention that the film didn’t came out. There was nothing there at all.

It was a JCH streetpan 400.

I tried the DD-X again on a roll of tri-x and it worked just fine. Haha really don’t know what I did wrong. Have been developing for 25 years, never seen this before.

 

[titrisol]

But the pictures came out OK?
Your film might have a antu-halation dye that comes out with developer. NOthing to worry about

 

[Steinberg2010]

If there's nothing on the film at all then the developer is presumably dead (fixer removed undeveloped edge markings). Perhaps trim a few inches in the dark from a film stock with known edge markings (e.g. Kodak/Ilford branded) and try again to be sure?

~S

 

[sojournerphoto]

If this film didn’t have any images at all including edge markings that would suggest that either:

- the developer was bad, but seems unlikely if the next roll was fine

- you ‘developed in water or fixer - is this possible?

If there were edge markings then that would suggest the film wasn’t exposed.


Some films do give lovely colours from the anti-halation dyes. I don’t know if the developer ph or reductive activity affects how strong they appear but the last one I had was in Part A of Divided D23, which only contains Metol and Sodium Sulphite (plus a bit of Potassium Bromide) so is pretty limited in action for the 3 minutes the film was in the solution.

@Freakscene will be able to add more useful detail.

Mike

 

[Freakscene]

@Freakscene will be able to add more useful detail.

Too kind, but you’ve covered the possibilities. Developer can’t lose activity and not develop one type of film and then develop another. Different types might do it better or worse, but the reactions are all basically the same. Your DD-X has not lost activity if it developed that roll of Tri-X. Something else happened with the roll of JCH Streetpan 400.

Marty

 

[SWB]

Have been developing for 25 years, never seen this before.

It just means in 25 years you hadn't yet got around to pouring the fix or stop into the tank first. Mistakes supply the mental jolt to learn from and if anybody says 'it has never happened to me' one day they may have a surprise in store.